{"id":7882,"date":"2026-08-27T21:40:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T21:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7882"},"modified":"2026-08-27T21:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T21:40:30","slug":"what-macklin-celebrini-said-about-his-big-contract-the-sharks-captaincy-and-will-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7882","title":{"rendered":"What Macklin Celebrini said about his big contract, the Sharks’ captaincy and Will Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN JOSE \u2013 Considering the aggressive moves general manager Mike Grier made this summer to try and upgrade the roster, Macklin Celebrini feels strongly that the San Jose Sharks are fully capable of making the playoffs this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Read more Oakley cancels November ballot council races that were uncontested<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrini also believes that even when his massive five-year, $94 million contract extension that he signed in July kicks in next summer, Grier and the Sharks will still have the flexibility needed to keep San Jose\u2019s young core together and be competitive for the long term.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was at the front of my mind throughout the whole negotiation,\u201d Celebrini said Thursday in his first public comments since signing the extension, which, barring a bigger deal, will carry a league-high $18.8 million average annual value once it begins in 2027-28.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sure that with where the cap was going, that the number made sense for the team first and foremost, making sure that everyone can get paid, and that we\u2019re in a good spot to build the way we want to build.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like we kind of landed on that number.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks aren\u2019t complaining.<\/p>\n

Celebrini, 20, established himself as one of the NHL\u2019s top players during a spectacular 2025-26 in which he nearly led the team to a playoff spot and was fourth in the league in scoring with 115 points, breaking the Sharks\u2019 single-season record of 114 set by Joe Thornton in 2006-07.<\/p>\n

With his production, Celebrini scored or assisted on 46.2% of the Sharks\u2019 goals. When he had a point, the Sharks were 37-18-5; when he didn\u2019t, they were 2-17-3. San Jose finished with 86 points, just four points out of a playoff spot after finishing the previous two years in last place.<\/p>\n

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Celebrini\u2019s new deal will account for 16.6% of the $113.5 million salary cap when it begins next season. Celebrini and his agent, Pat Brisson, could have asked for up to 20% of this season\u2019s $104 million cap, or an AAV of $20.8 million, but left $2 million on the table.<\/p>\n

Celebrini\u2019s deal will continue to take up less cap space in the coming years. After rising to at least $123 million in 2028-29, the cap is expected to increase dramatically again in 2029-30 and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something I wanted to get done this summer,\u201d Celebrini said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really want to wait until next summer and have it hanging over my head all year. I think it worked out, and I\u2019m thankful for everyone that we worked to get it done this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini said he won\u2019t feel any extra pressure to perform with the new deal.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything really externally will affect the way I play or who I am,\u201d he said. \u201cI just don\u2019t see anything like that changing the way I play the game or the approach that I take.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks, per PuckPedia, have over $30 million in available cap space for the 2027-28 season. A good chunk of that, though, will likely be taken up with new deals given to top-line forward Will Smith and projected No. 1 goalie Yaroslav Askarov, both of whom can become restricted free agents next summer.<\/p>\n

Smith has been Celebrini\u2019s linemate for most of the last two years and was the Sharks\u2019 second-leading scorer last season with 59 points in 69 games. The two will also be living together this season after finding a house, although the details on who will do the cooking and cleaning still need to be determined.<\/p>\n

Considering where the cap is going and what players like Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson ($18 million AAV) and Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard ($15 million AAV) received as they came out of their own entry-level contracts, Smith could command a deal that is worth well north of $10 million annually.<\/p>\n

Smith is eligible for an extension right now, and Celebrini obviously wants to see his good friend be in a Sharks uniform for several more years.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose apartment hub in Midtown district acquired for more than $100 million<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think everyone in our room hopes he\u2019s here for a long time,\u201d Celebrini said of Smith, who has 43 goals and 104 points in 143 career NHL games. \u201cIt\u2019s not really my business. I think that that\u2019s something that they\u2019ve got to sort out, but for sure, I\u2019m hoping that that gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini got back to the Bay Area on Monday after an offseason that included captaining Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in May in Switzerland and watching Canada play in the World Cup in his hometown of Vancouver.<\/p>\n

It also included a lot of training and skating, so much so that Grier even reached out to Celebrini to tell him to slow it down a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have a lot of space to grow,\u201d Celebrini said when asked what he wants to improve. \u201cI think in my game and off the ice, I feel like just kind of growing into myself as hopefully a leader for this team. We have a great group of vets that have been amazing and helped guide all of us young guys and be the best kind of role models.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust overall, just kind of growing on and off the ice, just keep building. I know that our whole team is excited for this year and the possibility to make the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does Celebrini feel he\u2019s ready to be the Sharks\u2019 captain? He said that\u2019s up to Grier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel I\u2019m comfortable with myself and how I lead,\u201d Celebrini said, \u201cand I don\u2019t think it\u2019d really change anything in the way I approach every day and do stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini has been at Sharks Ice this week, taking part in informal skates with a handful of his teammates, including new defensemen Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba.<\/p>\n

In a bid to improve the back end, Grier on July 1 signed the 6-3, 212-pound Trouba to an eye-opening four-year, $33 million deal, then acquired the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Nurse from Edmonton as part of a deal that sent Shakir Mukhamadullin to the Oilers. The Sharks also acquired Michael Kesselring from the Buffalo Sabres in late June and signed him to a three-year extension.<\/p>\n

The Sharks hope those additions, along with the signing of veteran winger Mason Marchment to a five-year, $33.75 million deal, can propel them to their first playoff appearance since 2019.<\/p>\n

Still, for the most part, the Sharks now have their nucleus together, with the biggest part, Celebrini, signed on for five more seasons after this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re all really excited with where we\u2019re going and what we\u2019re building,\u201d Celebrini said of the five-year term. \u201cSo just kind of keeping a little bit more flexibility for everyone, and it\u2019s not really a bad thing. I\u2019m committed to this team and this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Judge rejects claims that Bay Area transit tax measure is \u2018misleading\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini makes first public comments since signing five-year, $94 million extension<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Macklin Celebrini said about his big contract, the Sharks’ captaincy and Will Smith - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7882\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Macklin Celebrini said about his big contract, the Sharks’ captaincy and Will Smith - 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